A CONSTANT INFLUENCE

Many personal experiences, social movements, alongside countless forms of media/art have had an influence on my life and development, yet when asked to highlight a specific cultural influence to discuss, I was conscious to evaluate an element of my upbringing that has been constant throughout. As with everyone, my tastes in design, music, fashion, even food and lifestyle, have altered, matured or taken a different direction in time, whilst sport, and football in particular, has always been consistent. I have no intention of homing in on the sport itself, the business/ media aspects, or the football retail/replica industry sectors. With a dominant relevance to fashion, the study is more of an exploration into the social implications surrounding the sport, the creation of a subculture and the impact it may have made on my personal direction to date.

My father is an avid football fan, in his heyday travelling the length and breadth of the UK and Europe, amongst large numbers, to follow his team. The era undoubtedly had an influence on how he perceived clothing, instilling an awareness of labels and designers, rather than simply a certain look or garment style. Suddenly men with less awareness, care or inclination to push the direction of their dress sense, had clear indicators to direct them or abide to. I believe as I grew up, through certain male influences and peer groups, this formed my first subconscious familiarity of branding, particularly within the context of fashion.

I am fully aware of the stigma/stereo type attached to the football fan, especially when interacting with a group predominately of undergraduate females. The subject matter is a great example of how to consider and evaluate a social movement that may not bare any interest to yourself, but has made a clear impact on the industry you plan to enter. Britain changed more in the 1980s than in almost any recent decade. As like today, at the time Football was perceived as the national game, and with it the ‘football casuals’ organically came to fruition. Thus having an unquestionable influence on menswear, with the ramifications still prominent to this day.

A BLEAK DECADE

The rise of the City and the fall of the unions, the wider retreat of the left and the return of military confidence, the energy of a renewed entrepreneurialism and the entropy of a new, entrenched unemployment – more than twice as high even in the mid-80s boom as when Margaret Thatcher took office in 1979 – all make the decade feel like the hinge of our modern history.
BANG! A History of Britain in the 1980's, Graham Stewart

 

A montage clip of Thatcher's Britain

In conjunction with such social reform and unrest, football spectator attendances were at a regular high. Predominantly working & lower-middle class men used following/supporting the sport as recreational escape, offering a sense of belonging, identity, and camaraderie. Football firms were appearing and expanding in numbers, as the social pattern more publicly spilled into gang culture and hooliganism. Street/casual wear was initially dictated or derived from 60/70’s gang persona created by the likes of the mods, rockers, skinheads etc. On the back of such political and social tension, fashion, particularly of the average male, was about to change.

The gap between the social classes, the imbalance between aspiration and reality, was clearly evident. You sense through the fashions of the time that the lower class male was conscious of his perceived standing. Using the Aristocracy as a reference, the use of established luxury/heritage brands was an obvious tangible way to depict ambition, success, and breed confidence. This also started to create a vehicle to fuel common competitive characteristics, the ‘one-upmanship’ mentality, yet in a materialistic form.

Brief overview into political issues of the time

HOOLIGANISM : RISE OF THE CASUAL

Early 80's documentary into football hooliganism

A brief view, of the growing issue with rioting fans, being analysed at the time.

Birth of the 'casuals' football firm

WE ARE LABEL BOYS!!

A great portrayal of the crazy fashion philosophy of the younger generation of the working class. The uniform of style & affluence.

'It's about labels, not looks' A casuals documentary is critiqued, the era remembered and considered.

 

ORIGINAL BRAND FOCUS

There is a core group of fashion brands that were recognized by Casuals. Some may vary or dismiss certain brands, this comes down to a regional or club difference in most cases.

They all design and market their product with the higher end consumer in mind, some drawing upon a long standing tradition/heritage: from tailoring, to military/functional wear, outwear, to sports attire of prestige ie. polo, tennis, sailing & golf.

 Key styles: Trench coat, turtle roll neck, v-neck knitwear, fitted polo shirt, zip-through training top, straight leg pant or jean, a tennis/court shoe or brogue.

Along with several links and images here are some of the main, most renowned, labels adopted by the casual movement:

Lyle & Scott: Lyle & Scott was founded in 1874. The brand still draws from a 125-year-old archive that includes designs by Christian Dior and Michael Kors. Formally associated for golf knitwear.

Burberry, Aquascutum, Yves Saint Lauren,

Ralph Lauren: American fashion designer, est.1967, luxury 'Polo' Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Pringle, Lacoste, Stone Island, Fred Perry,

Sergio Tacchini: Italian Tennis player, formed luxury sportswear brand. Tennis was a popular, highly endorsed and admired sport of the decade.

Fila, Fiorucci, Henri Lloyd



http://uk.askmen.com/top_10/dating/top-10-casual-football-fan-fashions.html

http://www.football-hooligan.com/footballcasuals.html

NOSTALGIA

A brand eulogy that nicely depicts a nostalgic view of a Casual:

PRESENT DAY CASE STUDY

Many rules, or blueprints, for the formation of collections/product of casual menswear stem from the legacy of the 80's Football Casual Movement. I have specifically hand picked three design entities that are influenced in some way in today's market. The case studies highlight three different business/brand models, all with individual approaches and objectives:

1) AITOR THROUP

The London based designer, raised in Burnley and Manchester, developed a keen interest in labels such as Stone Island and the C.P. Company. Throup’s RCA MA graduate collection ‘When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods’ received wide critical acclaim focusing on its conceptual narrative approach.

Aitor later went on to actually collaborate with Stone Island and C.P. Company, re-working the Goggle Jacket, with a focus of  'Urban Protection'. Other collaborations include the re-design of the new England kit with Umbro and art/video direction with Kasabian on their Velociraptor project.

 

 

 

His conceptual flair combines combat functionality and technicalities, with his casual streetwear routes. The outcomes are unique and artistically brilliant, but at the same time he has a commerciality that has created a cult following amongst the modern football fan.

Brief caption of background, experiences and design process

http://www.youtube.com/user/AITORTHROUPSTUDIO?feature=watch 

2) LUKE 77 (The United Kingdom of)

Luke Roper and his team are a straight talking, straight thinking set of designers who understand the need of the average male in the commercial/ high-end high St. realms of fashion. As quoted from the official homepage:

Fashion and accessories clothes label offering fashion collections always created for every social need, equally at home in the city bar scene, on the terraces or in the pub including Jackets, Knitwear, Shirts, Sweats, Polos, T-shirts, Footwear, Watches, Jeans & Denim collection and our new collection Luke Roper Golf LRGO.

 

The core styles echo that of the Casual subculture, rejuvenated for the modern man. Tightly considered, although heavily branded, yet another trait of the Casuals. The use of the word 'terrace' is the only word that specifically refers to football in the brand write-up, but the awareness and understanding of their customer is more than evident in PR, marketing and celebratory endorsements. Frequent product placement can be seen on BBC's Match of the Day's football stars, and targeted actors such as Stephen Graham (of 'This is England' and 'Snatch' fame), and Danny Dyer ('The Football Factory' and 'The Business') champion the Luke look.